Predicting a home selling trend is more art than science. However, one trend today stands out: The electrification of the modern American home.
Consider how photovoltaic (PV) power generation is transforming home energy use and storage. Or how electric vehicle (EV) rapid charging needs will soon become a garage must-have. Then there’s the movement to more sustainable, renewable energy sources.
Some builders liken today to the late 1970s/early 1980s when builders started to pre-wire homes for a promising new technology called cable TV. Now pre-wiring is focused on transformative technologies like PV panels and EV chargers.
Next-Gen Home Energy Management
A central player in this home energy evolution is the load center.
Old school, analog circuit breaker panels enjoyed a remarkably long run. Its modern equivalent is the smart load center, an innovative update ideal for the challenging power applications of the next decade and beyond.
“Home buyers expect things to be connected. The circuit breaker panel is where thermostats were 15 years ago,” explains Justin Berghoff, senior director of business development and product management for Leviton, a leading innovator and manufacturer of residential and commercial electrical products.
Scalable Affordability
An intelligent load center takes its place alongside other smart home appliances and home products with a scalable, affordable solution.
A smart or smart-ready load center plays nice with homeowners’ desire to remotely monitor home services from a smartphone or tablet. For example, the top-rated Leviton Load Center offers homeowners an unprecedented level of whole home energy monitoring.
Monitoring is only part of the story. Scalability also factors large. As the owner’s needs change – say it’s time to add one or even two 240-volt EV recharging stations to the garage – the Leviton load readily adapts to the new power requirements. “The electrician unplugs the standard breaker and plugs in a new smart one. It’s system flexibility matched with real homeowner savings,” says Berghoff.
The heart of your smart home is its load center
Multiple Benefits
How else can a smart load center set your brand apart? A variety of ways, observes Greg Rhoades, director of marketing for smart and new technology products for Leviton:
Energy Use
- Homeowners can view real-time use as a total aggregate, by individual circuit, or by week, month or year trends through the My Leviton app.
- The app can calculate approximate total energy cost at any time, says Rhoades.
Control
- The app allows you to trip smart circuit breakers or turn on/off smart plugs, dimmers and switches for advanced control.
- Review system status in real-time and adjust power loads as needed.
Alerts & Updates
- Know when and why a circuit breaker trips or if a load isn’t performing as it should.
- Update a breaker’s firmware remotely instead of swapping it out
Your homes deserve every advantage in a time of rapidly evolving energy expectations and demands. The smart load center is the scalable, future-proof energy solution that differentiates your brand with Leviton quality, innovation and performance.
Learn more about how a smart load center offers builders and developers a competitive home selling advantage.
